90 Second Statement on 18C

THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL SHADOW MINISTER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY MEMBER FOR ISAACS

90 SECOND STATEMENT ON 18C

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, CANBERRA

MONDAY, 20 MARCH 2017

This week the Prime Minister faces a major test.

Does he stand on the side of bigots, or on the side of multicultural Australia?

If this government proposes any change to 18C – no matter how innocuous it looks – it will mean one thing. A green light for racist hate speech in Australia.

In August last year, this is what the Prime Minister said about section 18c, in a media interview:

…it is not going to create an extra job. It is not going to ensure that your listeners are going to get to work or get to school, or get around their business sooner. It’s not going to build an extra road.